Strategy is Everything
Whether a child is in year one or year seven, I always ensure their mental arithmetic is the sharpest it can be. This comes down to practice and strategy/logic. I love using Schofield & Sims range of KS1 and KS2 Mental Arithmetic books. My pupils begin by hating them, then—as they learn strategy and logic—they realise that a) they don't take as long as they used to and b) they can be fun.
Each book is split into three sections. Each section is divided into 12 tests, with individual tests being of 10 minute duration, each test broken down into parts A, B and C.
- A covers short mental arithmetic
- B covers short worded questions
- C covers more complex worded problems
The child's lesson begins with three part A's taken from three separate tests. By only completing all 36 A's, before moving onto all 36 B's and concluding with all 36 C's (in that order), a child builds up confidence, mental strategy/logic and a more in-depth understanding of the topics included.
As with the World of Business (Board Members, Directors and Managers), I put myself into each child's shoes, learning what strengths and weaknesses they have in order to help increase their understanding and confidence. Although I follow the same basic approach to teaching, I then tweak my methods so it becomes bespoke for each individual child.
Some children are visual learners, others find it easy, whilst others can do very little maths mentally.
I'm going to start to slowly share some of the mental arithmetic strategies I use with my students. Here's the first...
